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Indiana State University Athletics

Fenlong
0
Murray State MUR 27-24, 12-11 MVC
5
Winner Indiana State INS 34-14, 20-3 MVC
Murray State MUR
27-24, 12-11 MVC
0
Final
5
Indiana State INS
34-14, 20-3 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Murray State MUR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
Indiana State INS 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 X 5 9 1

W: Fenlong, Connor (8-2) L: Vernon, Cade (4-6)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Seth Montgomery | GoSycamores.com

Fenlong records second consecutive shutout as Sycamores top Murray State 5-0

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Connor Fenlong kept an opponent off the scoreboard for the third time in his last four starts as Indiana State evened the series with a 5-0 win over Murray State on Saturday afternoon at Bob Warn Field.
 
Fenlong (8-2) became the first ISU (34-14, 20-3 MVC) pitcher to post back-to-back shutouts in the Mitch Hannahs coaching era and has gone 19.0 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to April 29 against Evansville. The redshirt senior allowed just two singles and walked two in another dominant effort on the mound to lower his season ERA to 3.64 with the win.
 
Fenlong's two-hitter on Saturday afternoon followed his six-hit blanking of Bradley last weekend in Peoria, Ill. He's added a seven-inning shutout over Southern Illinois in ISU's 10-0 win over the Salukis and has posted a 7-0 record with a 2.37 ERA in MVC play in 2023.
 
Adam Pottinger drove in three runs and Josue Urdaneta scored three times to pace the Indiana State offense against the Racers (27-24, 12-11 MVC) as the Sycamores rebounded from Friday night's loss against Murray State. Grant Magill added a three-hit day at the plate including an RBI double and a stolen base in the win.
 
The Sycamores took control of the game early on Pottinger's two-run single in the bottom of the first and ISU added runs in the second, third, and seventh innings to provide Fenlong all the support he would need in the win.
 
The Gouvenour, N.Y. native retired the first 10 batters he faced and allowed just one runner in scoring position in the game. The redshirt senior did not allow a ball out of the infield over the final two innings to complete the contest.
 
ISU's win marked Head Coach Mitch Hannahs' 300th victory at the helm of the Indiana State program. It marks Hannahs' third milestone win of the season after reaching 100 career Valley wins and 400 career wins overall earlier in 2023.
 
Luis Hernandez added a two-hit game including his 13th double of the season as ISU connected on nine hits in the win.
 
Dustin Mercer and Seth Gardner connected on Murray State's lone hits in the loss.
 
Cade Vernon (4-6) took the loss on Saturday afternoon allowing six hits and four runs while walking two and striking out seven over 5.2 innings. Thomas McNabb and Alex Elsing closed out the game on the mound.

How They Scored
  • Adam Pottinger put the Sycamores on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning as the junior outfielder singled home Josue Urdaneta and Luis Hernandez to give ISU the 2-0 lead.
  • Grant Magill connected on an RBI double to the left center gap in the bottom of the second scoring Miguel Rivera from first base to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
  • Pottinger played Superman leaping over the MSU pitcher to reach first base on an error in the bottom of the third inning and Urdaneta scored on the play to give ISU the 4-0 lead.
  • Hernandez capped the scoring in the bottom of the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly to center field scoring Urdaneta to provide the final 5-0 margin.
News & Notes                                                                                                                                    
  • Indiana State secured just the second 20-win season in MVC play in program history on Saturday afternoon as the Sycamores improved to 20-3. ISU went 23-9 in the 1998 season for the most MVC wins in program history.
  • Hannahs became the second ISU head coach to record 300 wins in the Sycamore dugout joining ISU Hall of Fame head coach Bob Warn (1,070-745-5, 1976-2006) as the lone skippers to reach the mark in program history.
  • Indiana State rebounded to win the Saturday game after falling in the Friday series opener for the third time in conference play. The Sycamores are 9-2 in the middle game of a weekend series in 2023.
  • Connor Fenlong became the first pitcher in the Mitch Hannahs era to post three complete game shutouts in the same season surpassing the previous mark of two set by Ryan Keaffaber back in the 2016 season.
  • Fenlong has allowed just four earned runs over his last four games and has gone at least seven innings in each of his last five starts dating back to April 15 at Belmont.
  • Fenlong ties with Matt Jachec for the most complete games on the team this season with three.
  • The Sycamore duo are both tied for fourth in the NCAA Division I standings with three complete games in 2023.
  • ISU's five shutouts as a team in 2023 put the Sycamores tied for 11th in the NCAA Division I in the category.
  • Both Jachec (3) and Fenlong (3) individually have more complete games in 2023 than any single team in the MVC this year.
  • Adam Pottinger ran his on-base streak to 24 consecutive games on Saturday afternoon as the junior outfielder went 2-for-3 from the plate. His on-base streak becomes ISU's second longest of the 2023 season trailing just Luis Hernandez's 26-game stretch from February 26-April 16.
  • Seth Gergely and Josue Urdaneta both extended their on-base streaks to 16 games on Saturday afternoon.
  • Three more Sycamores were hit by pitches on Saturday as Josue Urdaneta, Adam Pottinger, and Seth Gergely were all plunked. ISU continues to lead the MVC with 93 HBPs through 48 games.
  • Four ISU players have been hit by at least 10 pitches this season including Pottinger (16), Gergely (14), Diaz (11), and Sears (10).
  • The Sycamore defense continued its strong play again on Saturday afternoon as the NCAA's leader in fielding percentage (0.985) recorded just their second error over the last 10 games.
  • Grant Magill recorded his third three-hit game of the 2023 season and first since March 25 against Valparaiso.
  • Adam Pottinger recorded his sixth multi-RBI game of 2023.
  • Pottinger had a pair of highlight plays on Saturday afternoon. The junior outfielder dove over the MSU pitcher to reach base on an error in the third inning. He added a highlight catch after running into the wall in the ISU bullpen in the top of the seventh.
Up Next
Indiana State and Murray State will close out the series tomorrow afternoon at Bob Warn Field as the Sycamores recognize their 2023 senior class in ISU's final home game of the regular season. The Sycamores will honor Seth Gergely, Miguel Rivera, Keegan Watson, Connor Fenlong, and Lane Miller prior to first pitch.
 
Game time is set for 1p.m. ET. The game will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on the Sycamore Baseball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.
 
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